Effective franchisee recruitment & selection

Recruiting new franchisees runs like a common thread through every franchise organization. An efficient and effective recruitment and selection process is very important for both the franchisor and prospective franchisees.

Recruiting franchisees

Recruiting franchisees is a very different discipline from hiring staff or marketing your products or services. Recruitment is more than just getting in touch with potential entrepreneurs for your franchise formula. It is important to articulate your formula (the offering) in the right way. What truly differentiates your formula and makes it unique is crucial. In short, why should a (prospective) franchisee be interested in your franchise formula? Together with colleagues from Franchise+, the Netherlands’ largest franchise recruitment and selection agency, we are happy to help you answer this question.

Recruiting franchisees requires a continuous approach. It is important to convey the right message to the (prospective) franchisee. Therefore, it is recommended not to make all information available online, but to share it in stages. It is also wise to dedicate at least one landing page on your website to recruiting franchisees. To generate leads, you can use multiple recruitment techniques and tools. Below are some recruitment channels, techniques, and instruments that, in our experience, can work well:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The right texts, specific keywords, and the use of bullet points make your franchise website easy to find via the various search engines.

2. Search Engine Advertising (SEA)

To bring even more attention to your franchise website, you can use, for example, Google Adwords enhanced sitelinks.

3. Retargeting

This brings your website back into focus after visitors have left it. For example, when your visitor browses nu.nl, your ad will also appear there.

4. Social Media

It is wise to gain as many followers on social media as possible. You can then share franchise opportunities at regular intervals on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and/or YouTube (video vacancies). Your followers are encouraged to express interest online and ask questions. You can also run paid social ads targeted to your ideal franchisee profile.

5. Email marketing

Although response rates for email marketing are relatively low, it is still a worthwhile recruitment method. Almost every recruitment software package can contact large groups of people at once. If you do not use recruitment software, there are various inexpensive or free email programs available to reach large audiences. The most common forms of email marketing are direct mails and newsletters.

6. Content Marketing

To get franchisees excited and keep them engaged, it is advisable to have your content marketing in order. As a franchisor, write a monthly blog, publish whitepapers regularly, and consider writing an e-book. This gives potential entrepreneurs more insight into the work and franchise opportunities.

7. Offline

Do not underestimate the power of offline recruitment. Of course, it is important to find out which media your target audience reads, but the local or regional newspaper and industry-specific trade journals can also generate many leads.

8. Online

In addition to the online recruitment channels mentioned above, you can also consider job boards, relevant (local) websites, or special interest websites such as Franchise+.

9. Intermediary with a database

Outsourcing your recruitment activities to an intermediary is a popular option. The expertise of a recruitment and selection agency such as Franchise+ saves your organization time and money. In addition, intermediaries often have their own database of interesting leads for your formula.

10. Referral Marketing

Also known as word-of-mouth. You can encourage this by offering a reward to the person who connects you with the right candidate, that is, a new franchisee. Your staff and existing franchisees are ideal candidates to introduce strong leads.

11. Headhunting

Often, the strategies above are faster and cheaper to implement than headhunting. However, if you are looking for a specific franchisee profile, headhunting can be the solution. LinkedIn often plays an important role here. Many prospective franchisees appreciate being approached directly and personally with an interesting entrepreneurial opportunity.

Unique per formula

The recruitment channels, techniques, and instruments above can work for recruiting franchisees. However, the profile of the ideal franchisee differs per formula, and so does the best approach. That is why it is advisable to start by creating a solid marketing and communication plan. Only on the basis of a good plan can you determine where best to invest your time, money, and energy to achieve maximum return. We are happy to support you with this.

The selection process

The selection of franchisees involves more than simply answering questions from everyone who shows interest in your franchise formula. This is not comparable to hiring staff. It is a discipline in its own right, partly because the franchisor and franchisee enter into a long-term relationship. For this reason, many formulas choose to outsource this entirely or partly to franchise recruitment experts. The selection process consists of various activities, which are briefly explained below.

Lead follow-up

Once a prospective franchisee has requested information about the franchise formula, this is called a lead. It is extremely important to follow up on these leads quickly and adequately, ideally within one working day. The aim is to conduct a short, efficient phone call to run through a high-level screening of hard requirements and determine whether the candidate fits the profile to proceed to the next step.

Introductory meeting(s)

If it appears during the phone call that the prospective franchisee meets the hard requirements and the profile, the next step is to invite the prospective franchisee for an introductory meeting. During the first meeting, the following topics are covered:

• Personal introduction with the candidate
• Explanation of the formula
• General explanation of franchising
• Engaging and inspiring the candidate
• Screening based on the competency profile
• Determining the candidate’s financial feasibility
• Answering mutual questions

After the first meeting, it is advisable to write a report or record the outcomes in a franchisee scorecard so that all information is preserved and shareable with colleagues. If there is interest, indicate this immediately to the prospective franchisee and schedule a second introductory meeting. A third or fourth meeting, or trial days at the organization, are also possible as part of the selection process.

The Franchise Entrepreneur Assessment

The Franchise Entrepreneur Assessment maps the qualities, development points, drives, and behavioral styles of a prospective franchisee. This is assessed using a variety of practice-oriented selection methods. It provides support and ultimately direction for selection and guidance decisions. The results can be included in the final decision and provide insight into the coaching required for the prospective franchisee in certain areas. By choosing a franchise entrepreneur assessment, the recruitment process becomes more efficient and effective. It also helps you properly fulfill your duty to investigate as a franchisor under the Dutch Franchise Act.

Relationship management with prospective franchisees

Once the first and second meetings have taken place with a prospective franchisee, it is important to maintain contact. Ensure that all questions are answered before the Pre-contractual Information Document can be signed. Although the standstill period of four weeks starts once the Pre-contractual Information Document has been provided, it is of course permitted to show interest. Continuing to show interest keeps the candidate motivated, as long as no pressure is applied.

Optimize franchisee recruitment and selection for optimal growth of your franchise organization!

As you have read, there are various steps and choices to be made when setting up an effective and efficient selection process for franchisees. We are happy to help you make the right choices and discuss your current recruitment process and approach to franchisee selection. Finally, we can also coach and train you in selecting franchisees in the right way, or take part of the work off your hands.